in the spring of 2009 i gave birth to my second child ethan. he had red hair, big blue eyes, and owned my heart from the moment he was conceived. however, in october of that year he started getting sick.

i was 15 when i got pregnant. my boyfriend at the time and i weren't using any form of birth control -- he was just pulling out. the one time he didn't pull out was the time i got pregnant.

i'm 23 and already have two beautiful little girls, my youngest being 6 months old. right after having my baby i got the paragard iud placed in. 3 months later we learn i'm pregnant and my iud has embedded itself into me.

it was a month after i tried to commit suicide that i was raped. while driving myself home after the rape, i could feel what he had left behind in me. the only idea that was going through my mind was how could i forget about it and go to work the next day.

i look back now and realize that even though i was educated and very capable, i was also very young and naive. i was 18 years old, a freshman in college and in my first serious relationship, all while dealing with my father's illness and death later that year. a powder keg of change and stress - to deal with it i spent almost all of my time with my boyfriend, trying not to think about the future.

i was 20 years old when i found out i was pregnant. it was just two weeks after i had finally gotten out of an unhealthy relationship that fed my low self-esteem and low self-worth.